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Is Rajasthan being turned by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government into another Gujarat? Activists who have been speaking of growing discrimination against Muslims and their segregation in the state, found unexpected support from the Prime Minister's high-level committee on the social, economic and educational status of Muslims in India, which also found a high level of insecurity among Muslims and a "deepening distrust between Muslims and Hindus" in Rajasthan. According to sources, the state government has "turned a blind eye to the Muslims, as if the community simply does not exist." Kavita Srivastava, a well-known social activist, says the situation has never been as bad as it is now. The Muslims are being deliberately targeted by the RSS and the BJP, which are spearheading a social and economic boycott of the community. The high-powered committee headed by Justice Rajinder Sachar, which was in Rajasthan for four days, received numerous complaints of discrimination against Muslims at all levels. It is as if the state has decided that Muslims simply do not exist and they are being made to fade out of existence. Civil rights activists working in the affected villages, where tension has been simmering for months, point out that Muslims have had to leave their houses and are unable to return to their villages in Bhilwara district, which is the worst affected. In the cities, Muslims find they are unable to get loans to purchase property from banks, and that landlords are ‘discouraged’ from selling them houses, or even giving them out on rent. The result is that, like in Ahmedabad, a segregation of communities is taking place with Hindus and Muslims now living separately. This is true even in larger cities like Jaipur and Ajmer. The committee, in fact, found Muslims were being socially boycotted in public spaces. Women in purdah said they were not paid any attention by shopkeepers, who refused to sell them goods in the markets. In certain localities in Jaipur itself, Muslims were no longer able to buy property. "Even if some are able to finalise a property deal, property registration is denied and banks do not provide housing loans," the committee noted after its visit to the state. The activists say the pace has quickened, pointing out that there has been no counter to the BJP in Rajasthan. "The Congress does not exist," Kavita Srivastava says with some bitterness. This despite the fact that it was just recently in government and its chief minister Ashok Gehlot is an All-India Congress Committee general secretary. The sources in Rajasthan say the Opposition has left the field absolutely clear for the RSS to divide the communities along religious lines with the chief minister content to let the Sangh control Rajasthan. The sources point out that there is no active tension, except in Bhilwara, that it is as though Muslims have ceased to exist for the state government and that they could not raise their voice without fear of adverse reaction. For instance, Muslims are now being forced to opt for a second language, other than Urdu, simply because the government is not appointing Urdu teachers. A member secretary of the committee Dr Abusaleh Shariff confirms this by pointing out that not a single representation has been received in Urdu that is noted as unusual, more so as this is not the pattern observed by the committee in Hyderabad and Lucknow. Muslims are also finding it difficult to get employment. A strong plea made before the committee is that those living in Muslim-dominated areas are not given bank credit by private and public sector banks. Muslims are not being allowed to take out traditional Urs processions in villages in Bhilwara district, which has been communally tense for over a year now. Interestingly, the Rajasthan home minister, in the presence of the chief minister, informed the committee that Urs had been observed this year. This government claim was subsequently found to be incorrect by Justice Sachar, who said as much, maintaining that either the minister was not well informed, or was just unaware that the Muslims had not been able to observe Urs again this year. This, the sources say, indicates the repression under which the minority lives in the state. The activists say it is impossible to get justice as "no one in the state government is even listening". The state has simply decided to look the other way and allow the RSS to encourage the ostracising of Muslims without violence. "It is subtle, no one can really fight it if your child does not get admission, if a particular school does not have an Urdu teacher, if the bank refuses to give you credit citing technical reasons, and if a landlord does not rent you his house, but the entire pattern is revealing," they point out. The police are unresponsive, the activists say, maintaining that prominent Muslims in any village or locality who speak their minds are booked by the police on allegedly false charges. "Muslims simply cannot speak or demand their rights," a civil liberty group worker points out, adding, "We cannot tell you how bad it has become since the BJP came to power." There is widespread anger, however, against the Congress Party for refusing to respond. "They are in Rajasthan just as they were in Gujarat," the activists say, predicting "very bad days ahead". (Source: The Asian Age)
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